Travel Agent Honolulu

As might be expected, the QM2 is still a memorable ship to make a quick six-day North Atlantic crossing between Europe and North America. Cunard's marketing slogan contending that "the legendary Transatlantic Crossing on QUEEN MARY 2 is an undeniably sophisticated means of traversing the Atlantic" is certainly true. I had made a similar voyage on the QM2 a few years ago and I find this mighty large ship has lost none of its charms. The accommodations are excellent, the food is most enjoyable, the shipboard lectures are crisp and the entertainment is outstanding. Although the crossing was in the middle of summer, the weather was largely overcast and as the QM2 approached the British Isles it experienced a strong gale which on the Beaufort scale is a Force 9 that carries about 50mph winds and wave heights in excess of 23 feet. Nevertheless, the vessel was very stable and shipboard activities below deck were entirely unaffected. In fact, one tends to notice that Cunard emphasizes inside activities and, for the most part, tends to minimize ondeck activities. It seems to work out well.

Getting to the relatively new Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is a bit awkward (even the driver of the Enterprise car rental office in downtown Brooklyn had some difficulties finding the Red Hook facility) but the embarkation procedures were fast and easy.

Starting the cruise by finding a chilled bottle of champagne in the stateroom is truly a nice touch. Passenger navigation about the ship is easy enough and although the vessel is large, it never seems to be crowded except, understandably, at peak hours in the King’s Court buffet area which essentially consists of four restaurants (Piazza, Lotus, Chef's Galley and the Carvery ). Speaking of restaurants, the large two-tiered Britannia Restaurant is a superb room with excellent food and service.

I particularly liked the planetarium which has four different presentations of about 45 minutes each. When the lights go out and the seats are fully reclined and the mellifluous voices of Harrison Ford or Robert Redford begin it is like a lullaby and one goes off to dreamland very easily if one isn't very careful.

Dancing on the QM2 can be one of the highlights of the trip. Music and large dancefloors are everywhere it seems and a half-dozen gentlemen hosts help to keep the dancers flowing. There are also complimentary computer classes aboard and they can be very worthwhile indeed. In fact, there are too many activities, so much so that I find sleep deprivation to be my prime problem on a cruise.

Aloha